Method of weaving terry fabric



Feb. 7, 1967 w MCH RGUE 3,302,665

METHOD OF WEAVING TERRY FABRIC Original Filed Jan. 19, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

1967 w. M HARGUE METHOD OF WEAVING TERRY FABRIC 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Jan. 19, 1965 INVENTOR. 21 /4 LMML MBA E605 Feb. 7, 1967 w MCHARGUE 3,302,665

METHOD OF WEAVING TERRY FABRIC Original Filed Jan. 19, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. ZV/AL/HM .5 MHQEJ-UE United States Patent "'ice 3,302,665 METHOD OF WEAVING TERRY FABRIC William L. McHargue, Fairfax, Ala, assignor to West Point-Pepperell, Inc., a corporation of Georgia Original application Jan. 19, 1965, Ser. No. 426,647. Divided and this application Apr. 7, 1966, Ser. No.

5 Claims. (Cl. 139-25) This application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 426,647, filed January 19, 1965. This invention relates to improvements in terry pile fabrics having distinct hi-lo pattern or sculptured effects, and to a novel and practical method for weaving terry fabrics to achieve such effects.

Conventional terry and other pile fabrics which are woven on terry looms contain a ground warp and a pile or terry warp, both interwoven with filling. In making a typical terry fabric, the ground warp is held in the loom in a conventional manner under comparatively high tension, while the pile or terry warp is fed or released by a let-off mechanism which feeds terry warp intermittently in increments. The beat-up mechanism of a terry loom is provided with a reed which is movably mounted on the lay so that it can be displaced thereon horizontally relative to the fell of the fabric. The reed is operable periodically, after a predetermined number of beat-ups, to advance the terry warp relative to the ground warp to form a row of terry pile loops, the let-off mechanism being operated at this time to release a predetermined length of terry warp for such advance. In making a three-pick terry, for example, no terry warp is let off during two picks and a fixed amount is let off, or overfed relative to the ground warp, on the third pick to provide loose terry warp for the formation of terry pile loops.

For many years terry looms were capable of forming terry loops of only uniform height, and if a pattern effect was desired, the terry warp simply was not overfed at.

certain intervals, but was woven with no loops into the base fabric along with the ground warp. This mode of operation provides a transverse striped effect, with lateral stripes being devoid of terry pile loops. Another procedure permitted the production of any pattern having terry pile loops of uniform height with adjacent pattern areas being of contrasting colors. The later type of pattern is produced by employing two terry warp beams respectively carrying two groups of terry warp ends of contrasting colors and the two groups of ends are selectively woven into loops first on one face of the fabric and then on the other to achieve the desired pattern of colors.

While the pattern effects so obtained are distinct, the

striped fabrics are objectionable in having areas devoid of terry pile loops so that the pattern has a bare, rather than a pleasing, appearance, and the contrasting color pattern is devoid of sculptured contrasts.

More recently, various loom modifications have been proposed for varying the height of terry pile loops, fabrics having such loop height variations being hereafter termed hi-lo or sculptured effect fabrics. In this known procedure, a single beam of terry Warp ends is split into at least two groups, and apparatus is provided in conjunction with the terry warp let-off mechanism to increase the amount of slack effected in one group of terry warp ends and to decrease the amount of slack effected in the other group of terry Warp ends, and to reverse this procedure at predetermined intervals according to a desired pattern. At still other intervals, the apparatus is rendered inoperative so that the amount of overfeed is the same for both groups of terry warp ends. Thus, the two groups of terry warp ends alternate,

3,302,665 Patented Feb. 7, 1967 at times, in forming high and low loops relative to each other and both groups are, at other times, simultaneously formed into loops of an intermediate height. Fabric produced by this procedure, however, despite having a hi-lo effect, does not have sharply defined relief effects and produceable patterns are necessarily limited.

Still another proposal for obtaining hi-lo, sculptured terry fabrics has been to employ two types of terry warp ends having different shrinkage characteristics. The two types are woven into the fabric to form a predetermined pattern of the terry loops of each type. The fabric is subsequently treated to shrink the one type of warp ends relative to the other type and so shorten the terry loops formed by the one type to produce a relief effect. The disadvantages of such a procedure are manifold and obvious.

Thus, until the present invention, there has been no satisfactory practical method or procedure for weaving terry pile fabrics to achieve hi-lo distinct, sculptured effects, with sharply defined reliefs in any desired pattern.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved and practical procedure for weaving terry pile fabrics to achieve hi-lo or sculptured effects with sharply defined reliefs and with any desired pattern.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved and practical method for weaving terry fabrics having terry loops which may vary in height on one face of the fabric in selected areas in order to provide sculptured effects.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved practical metthod for weaving terry fabrics provided with selectively positioned loops of at least two different heights which are uniform throughout the fabric in order to provide sculptured or relief effects.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved method for weaving terry fabrics having hi-lo or sculptured effects, and wherein the pattern of such effects can be achieved by use of conventional pattern mechanisms.

It is another object of this invention to provide a terry fabric containing high and low pile loops arranged in predetermined patterns to produce pleasing sculptured effects, and also wherein the effects may be accentuated by the use of contrasting yarns for the respective high and low loops.

It is another object of this invention to provide a terry fabric having complementary patterns formed on its opposite faces by terry loops formed by two independent sets of terry wrap ends, the loops formed by the ends of one set being of different height from the loops formed 'by the ends of the other set and wherein the contrast between the high and low loops may .be accentuated by using contrasting yarns for the respective sets of terry Warp ends.

Other and further objects of this invention together with an appreciation of the advantages thereof, will become apparent from the following description and accompany-ing drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the method and apparatus embodying this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary perspective view, with parts being omitted or cutaway to illustratedet-ails more clearly, of a section of a terry loom having let-off mechanism embodying this invention;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary perspective view, partly in section, of terry fabric embodying this invention;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary weftwise sectional view or" three-pick terry pile fabric embodying this invention; FIGURE 5 is a view corresponding to FIGURE 4 but illustrating in two sectional views, in what may be termed an exploded relationship, adjacent respective high and low terry pile yarns.

Broadly stated, the objects of the present invention are accomplished by weaving a terry pile fabric with at least two separate and independent sets of terry warp ends supplied from at least two separate terry warp beams such that both sets may be let off at the same time but at different increments, i.e., overfed by different amounts, so that the terry loops formed by the two sets are of different heights. Along with this procedure, the formation of the loops is controlled, by conventional pattern mechanism, to produce a predetermined area pattern of the loops of one set on one face of the fabric, and a complementary area pattern of such loops on the other face, and to fill in the remaining areas with the loops of the other set, the pattern formed by the latter loops on each face of the fabric being in registration with the pattern formed on the opposite face by the loops of the one set.

Proceeding according to the invention, a sculptured terry pile fabric is manufactured on conventional jacquard or dobby terry looms, utilizing two beams of pref erably contrasting terry warp yans, e.g., of contrasting colors, sizes, textures, or the like. Terry warp ends from the respective beams are fed to the loom though'separate feed roll pairs (let-offs), and the respective sets of warp ends are threaded into the loom substantially in alternation, i.e., alternating either by single warp ends or by groups of warp ends. The respective sets of terry warp ends are fed or let off at the same time but by different amounts, one set of ends, for example, being let off by an amount exceeding the let-off amount of the other set by as much as twenty-five percent.

According to the invention, warp ends from each set may form terry pile loops on both faces of the fabric. Ordinarily, when selected warp ends of one set are formed into terry loops in a given area on the front face of the fabric, the adjacent warp ends of the other set are formed into terry loops in substantially the same area on the back face of the fabric, and the selected and adjacent terry warp ends are reversed from front to back or back to front in accordance with a desired pattern, by suitable control of the heddles through either the jacquard or the dobby mechanism. It will be seen that each set of terry warp ends forms separate warpwise rows of terry pile loops, which loops are of a constant predetermined height through-out the length of each row, whether on the front face or back face of the fabric.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawings, a conventional terry loom having a ground warp beam and a terry warp beam 12 is modified to include a second terry warp beam 14. Preferably, as mentioned hereto fore, although it is not essential, the terry warp yarns 16' and 18 wound on the two respective beams 12 and 14 visually contrast, either by way of color, texture, size,.

or. the like. The two sets of terry warp ends 16 and 18 from the two beams are fed to the loom substantially in lateral alternation, i.e., one by one or in groups, e.g.,.

two by two, etc., and are laterally interspersed with the ground warp ends 20.

The terry warp ends 16 from the beam 12 are fed through the usual let-off mechanism which includes a pair of feed rolls 22, 24, the ends passing around the roll 22, up between the two rolls, around the other roll 24, and thence beneath a slack bar 26. A separate let-off mechanism is provided for the terry warp ends 18 from the beam 14, such mechanism including a pair of feed rolls 28, 30, and such ends being led downwardly around the roll 28, up between the two rolls, around the other roll 30, and thence below another slack bar 27. The ground warp ends 20 are led from the ground warp beam 10 upwardly over a guide roll 32 substantially in lateral alternation with the two sets of terry warp ends 16 and 18.

The ground and the two terry warps 20, 16 and 18 then pass through conventional heddles. The terry warp ends 16 may pass through one or more of the even heddles 34, the second terry warp ends 18 through one or more of the odd heddles 36, and the ground warp ends 20 through ground warp heddles 38. The heddles 38 for the ground warp ends 20 are actuated in any ordinary manner, and the two sets of heddles 34 and 36 for the two sets of terry warp ends 16 and 18 are actuated and controlled by any suitable pattern mechanism 40, e.g., a jacquard or dobby, to cause terry loops 42, 44 formed respectively by these ends to be located either on the front or back face of the fabric 46, and in a predetermined pattern. The pattern mechanism 40 for so operating the heddles 34 and 36 need depart in no respect from those known in the weaving art and hence is not described in any greater detail.

From the heddles 34, 36 and 38 all three warps 16, 18 and 20 pass through the reed 50 carried by the oscillating lay 52 of the beat-up mechanism; The reed 50 is pivotally mounted on the lay 52 so that the reed can be adjustably displaced rearwardly relatively to the lay 52 from what is termed a closed to what is termed an open position, the latter being adjustable and shown in dotted lines in the drawings. The position of the reed is controlled by a reed motion (not shown) which is well known in the art and so need not be described in any detail. When the lay 52 is in its rearward position, i.e., nearest the heddles 34, 36 and 38, a shuttle (not shown) is thrown through the shed to lay a course of filling yarn 54 (FIG- URES 4 and 5) normally called a pick.

The ground warp beam 10 is frictionally restrained from rotating in a conventional manner by conventional means (not shown) so that the ground warp ends 20 are held in the loom under comparatively high tension, the fabric 46, as made, being pulled in a direction away from the warp beams by conventional take-up mechanism, not illustrated, but indicated by the arrow 48. The two terry warp beams 12 and 14, on the other hand, are provided with conventional brakes (the brake drum 56 for beam 12 being shown in FIGURE 2) which merely restrain these beams from turning'too easily.

As the lay 52 moves back and forth on each pick toward and away from the fell 58 of the fabric 46 on the forward stroke of the lay, the reed 50 normally is moved to its open position, indicated by dotted lines, so as to only loosely beat the filling 54 toward but not entirely to the fell of the fabric. On the loop-forming stroke of the lay 52, however, the reed 50 is maintained in its closed position to tightly beat the previously-placed fillings or picks 54 to the fell 58 of the fabric 46 and form terry loops. In making, for example, three-pick terry fabric, on every third pick the reed 50 is maintained closed by the reed motion to thereby tightly beat all three picks to the fell 58 of the fabric 46. During the loop-forming beat-up or stroke of the lay 52, the two terry warps 16 and 18 are released by different predetermined amounts and the frictional engagement of the filling 54 therewith moves them forwardly by such predetermined amounts respectively, relative to the ground warp 20, to thereby form terry loops 42, 44 on both faces of the base fabric 60 in accordance with the operation of the pattern mechanism 40. Preferably, the reed opening, i.e., the distance between the reed 50 and the fell' 58 of the fabric 46 at the foremost position of the lay 52 when loosely beating up non-loop-forming picks in making terry fabrics, is adjusted to substantially equal the let-off increment or amount of the hi-loop forming terry Warp 18 to minimize slippage of the latter relative to the previouslyplaced filling 54 when beating up to form terry loops. Obviously some slippage of the lo-loop-forming terry warp 16 relative to the previously-placed filling 54 unavoidably occurs when beating up to form terry loops.

Referring now to FIGURE 2 of the drawings, there is shown, in greater detail, the let-off mechanisms for the two terry warps 16 and 18. The loom includes the usual side frames 62 provided with rearwardly extending brackets 64 which support the terry warp beam 12. The

feed-rolls 22, 24 of the let-01f mechanism for the terry warp ends 16 from the beam 12 are journaled in bearings carried on another pair of rearwardly extending brackets 66 secured to the side frames 62, these rolls 22, 24 having intermeshing gears 68, 70 on corresponding ends thereof. The pair of feed rolls 28, 30 for the let-off mechanism for the terry warp ends 18 similarly may be journaled in bearings carried by the brackets 66, these rolls 28, 30 also have intermeshing gears 72, 74 on corresponding ends thereof. The rolls 24 and 30 are provided with extended shafts having respective ratchet wheels 76, 78 fixed thereon. The ratchetwheels 76, 78 may be advanced step-by-step by respective pawls 80, 82 pivotally mounted on corresponding arms of respective bell cranks 84, 86 pivotally mounted on the shafts of the respective rolls 24, 30. The other arms of the bell cranks 84, 86 have the upper ends of links 88, 90 respectively pivotally connected thereto. The lower ends of both links 88, 90 are adjustably pivotally connected to a lever or crank 92 fixed on a shaft 94 journaled in bearings carried by the loom frame.

Fixed to the shaft 94 is a follower arm 96 having a follower 98 mounted thereon which rides on a cam 100 fixed on a cam shaft 102. The cam may be of any desired shape and may be varied in accordance with the speed of theshaft 102 relative to the main drive of the loom. Preferably the cam 100 and shaft102 are arranged to oscillate the pawls 80 and 82 only during each terry loop-forming beat-up stroke of the lay 52, e.g., at each third pick in making three-pick terry fabric, to rotate the roll pairs 22, 24 and 28, 30 predetermined amounts. The difference in let-off amounts effected by the respective roll pairs may be provided by different numbers of teeth in the ratchet wheels 76, 78, by different extents of pawl strokes, or by a combination of these two expedients. In FIGURE 2, the ratchet wheel 76 is provided with a greater number of teeth than wheel 78 and, consequently a lower amount of let-off is provided for the terry warp 16 than the terry warp 18 so that the former produces low terry loops and the latter high terry loops.

The pivotal mounting of the pawls 80 and 82 permits them to be controlled by the pattern mechanism 40 so that they can be disengaged from their respective ratchet wheels 76, 78 when making plain cloth, e.g., hem tabs and borders. To this end, the pattern mechanism 40 is connected, by conventional means 104, to the upper ends of tension springs 106, 108 connected to the respective pawls 80, 82, the arrangement being such that the pawls are pivoted up and normally maintained in raised and inoperative positions by the pattern mechanism when making plain cloth.

The let-off mechanisms for the two terry warps 16 and 18 will be recognized as being conventional, except for the fact that they are arranged to impart difierent amounts of overfeed or let-off for the two terry warps during the terry loop-forming cycle of the loom. It also will be noted that one roll of each of the feed-roll pairs, e.g., rolls 24 and 30, are provided with adjustable springclamp brakes 110 and 112, respectively, to hold the terry warps under tension except during a positive let-ofi? by movement of the pawls 80 and 82.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, there is shown a section of terry fabric 46 embodying a relief pattern resulting from the present invention. A great variety of other patterns are obtainable according to the invention, including intricate floral designs, and it will be realized that the relatively simple pattern shown is offered for illustrative purposes only. It will be seen from FIGURE 3 that relatively high loops 44 are in the areas labeled hi, and relatively low loops 42 are in the areas labeled 10. All high loops 44 are of substantially the same height, whether in the several hi areas on the top or front face of the fabric, or in the several hi areas on the bottom or back face of the fabric. Similarly, the relatively low loops 42 are of substantially the same height, whether in the 10 areas on the front face of the fabric or in the 10 areas on the back face of the fabric. It also will be seen that the hi areas on the top face register with the lo areas on the bottom face and vice-versa, and also that the pattern formed by the hi areas on the top face is complementary to the pattern formed by the hi areas on the bottom face. The same statement is true of the patterns formed on the opposite faces by the 10 areas.

Turning now to FIGURES 4 and 5, there is shown a typical fabric 46 embodying this invention. The fabric 46 has a conventional base 60 of the usual construction in that it is formed of a plurality of weft or filling yarns 54 interwoven with ground warp yarns 20. Each ground warp end 20 is alternately interlaced with first two and then one filling yarn 54, laterally adjacent ground warp ends being reversed as to the faces of the fabric 60. As usual, one or more of the ground warp yarns may be disposed between each adjacent pair of terry pile yarns 16 and 18. In each of these figures, the terry fabric 46 shown is in the form of a three-pick terry wherein both terry yarns 16 and 18 are normally interwoven with every third weft yarn 54. However, it should be clear that the invention is not limited to the production of three-pick terry. During the weaving of the left hand portions of the two warpwise rows of terry warp ends 16 and 18 shown in FIGURES 4 and 5, the low loops 42 formed from the terry warp end 16 are caused to project from the front or top face of the fabric 46 while the high loops 44 formed'from terry warp end 18 are caused to project from the back or bottom face of the fabric; and the positions of the loops 42 and 44 are reversed from front to back and back to front at the right hand portions.

From the foregoing it will be seen that in weaving terry fabric according to the invention, those terry warp ends which are overfed at the greater increment form higher loops than do those overfed at the lesser increment.

Thus, high and low terry loops are achieved by varying amounts of let-off. Each terry warp end, however, is formed into loops of uniform height throughout the fabric, although the adjoining terry warp ends may be formed into uniform loops of greater or lesser height, as the case may be. In a given small area of terry fabric embodying the invention, the higher loops are formed on one surface and the lower loops on the other, whereby the overall pattern achieved is a hi-lo sculptured effect, involving areas of high loops adjoined by areas of low loops, which preferably are of contrasting colors.

The present invention is susceptible to the production of a variety of different intricate jacquard designs on a conventional terry loom. The fabric may be woven on any type of terry loom equipped with a pattern device, although it is preferable that such loom be provided with a jacquard pattern mechanism for controlling the terry pile yarns so that selected loops may project from either face of the fabric base.

In the drawings and specification there have been set forth preferred embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of weaving contrasting patterns in both faces of terry fabrics, the steps comprising: interweaving a ground warp and two independent and distinct terry warps with filling to produce terry loops on both faces of the fabric; overfeeding the two terry warps by different constant amounts so that the height of the loops produced by each terry warp differs from the height of the loops produced by the other terry warp and controlling the formation of said loops to cause the loops produced by one of said terry warps to be formed in predetermined pattern areas on one face of the fabric and in other predetermined pattern areas on the opposite face of the fabric, and to cause the loops produced by the other of said terry warps to be formed in the remaining areas of 7 said fabric and so that the remaining areas on each face of the fabric are in registration with said pattern areas on the opposite face of the fabric.

2. The method defined in claim 1 in which the two terry warps visually contrast.

3. The method of weaving contrasting patterns in both faces of terry fabrics, the steps comprising: interweaving a ground warp with filling to provide a base; intermittently interweaving a first terry Warp with the filling to form first loops of uniform height; intermittently interweaving a second terry warp, which contrasts visually with said first terry warp, with said filling simultaneously with said interweaving of said first terry warp to form second terry loops of uniform height; overfeeding said first and second terry warps by different constant amounts so that the heights of said first and second loops are different, and controlling the formation of said loops so that said first loops are arranged in predetermined pattern areas on opposite faces of the fabric and said second loops are arranged in the remaining areas on opposite faces of the fabric and so that said remaining areas on each side of the fabric are in registration with said predetermined pattern areas.

4. The method of producing a double-faced hi-low terry fabric comprising the steps of: interweaving ground warp ends and filling yarn on a terry loom; overfeeding at different constant increments to the loom two independent groups of terry warp ends arranged substantially in lateral alternation and interweaving said terry warp ends with the filling whereby each terry warp end is formed into a warpwise row of terry loops of relatively uniform height, said loop height being substantially the same for the ends of each group and different for the ends of the respective groups; and controlling the formation of terry loops of said groups on the loom to produce predetermined com- 8 plementary patterns on the opposite faces of the fabric in which the pattern formed on each face by the loops of one group is in registration withthe pattern formed by the loops of the other group on the opposite face, whereby the terry loops together define hi-lo area pattern eifects on both sides of the fabric.

5. A method of producing a double-faced, hi-lo terry fabric, the steps comprising: interweaving a set of ground warp ends and terry Warp ends with filling yarns to produce warpwise rows of terry loops on both faces of the fabric; supplying the terry warp ends substantially in lateral alternation in two separate and distinct sets; overfeeding the two sets of terry warp ends by different constant amounts so that the terry Warp ends of each set are formed into terry pile loops of a uniform height which is different from the height of the loops formed 'by the terry Warp ends of the other set; and controlling the formation of the loops formed by the terry warp ends of each set to produce predetermined complementary patterns on opposite faces of the fabric in which the pattern defined by the loops formed by the terry warp ends of each set on each face of the fabric is in registration with the pattern formed by the terry Warp ends of the other set on the opposite face of the fabric.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,949,579 3/1934 Parker 13925 3,030,691 4/1962 Law 139-396 XR 3,072,153 1/1963 Law 139-25 3,093,163 6/1963 Jackson 139-396 MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

H. S. JAUDON, Assistant Examiner. 

1. THE METHOD OF WEAVING CONTRASTING PATTERNS IN BOTH FACES OF TERRY FABRICS, THE STEPS COMPRISING: INTERWEAVING A GROUND WARP AND TWO INDEPENDENT AND DISTINCT TERRY WARPS WITH FILLING TO PRODUCE TERRY LOOPS ON BOTH FACES OF THE FABRIC; OVERFEEDING THE TWO TERRY WARPS BY DIFFERENT CONSTANT AMOUNTS SO THAT THE HEIGHT OF THE LOOPS PRODUCED BY EACH TERRY WARP DIFFERS FROM THE HEIGHT OF THE LOOPS PRODUCED BY THE OTHER TERRY WARP AND CONTROLLING THE FORMATION OF SAID LOOPS TO CAUSE THE LOOPS PRODUCED BY ONE OF SAID TERRY WARPS TO BE FORMED IN PREDETERMINED PATTERN AREAS ON ONE FACE OF THE FABRIC AND IN OTHER PREDETERMINED PATTERN AREAS ON THE OPPOSITE FACE OF THE FABRIC, AND TO CAUSE THE LOOPS PRODUCED BY THE OTHER OF SAID TERRY WARPS TO BE FORMED IN THE REMAINING AREAS OF SAID FABRIC AND SO THAT THE REMAINING AREAS ON EACH FACE OF THE FABRIC AREA IN REGISTRATION WITH SAID PATTERN AREAS ON THE OPPOSITE FACE OF THE FABRIC. 